Past exam of the linear algebra course of the University of Oxford / 2023 / 3 / b / ii / Solution

Let $w=Tv$. If $T^{2}v=0$, then $Tw=0$, and part (i) gives $\Vert T^{\ast }w\Vert =\Vert Tw\Vert =0$. Thus $T^{\ast }w=0$ andThe positive definiteness of the inner product gives $w=0$. Since the reverse kernel inclusion always holds, we obtainThis is kernel stabilization for a normal operator.